Fidel Castro’s health - ANNOUNCEMENT

Courtesy of the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5233770.stm

Proclamation by the commander in chief to the people of Cuba:

As result of the great effort exerted to visit the Argentine city of
Cordoba, to participate in the Mercosur meeting, the closing of the
People’s Summit in the historic University of Cordoba, and to visit
Alta Gracia, the city where Che [Guevara] grew up, together with my
participation in the commemoration in Granma and Holguin Provinces of
the 53rd anniversary of the assaults on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel
de Cespedes Garrisons on 26 July 1953, days and nights of nonstop
work with hardly any sleep lead my health, which has withstood every
test, to undergo extreme stress and a breakdown.

This resulted in an acute intestinal crisis with persistent bleeding
which forced me to undergo a complicated surgical procedure. All the
details of this health incident are evidenced in the x-rays,
endoscopies, and video record.

The surgery makes it necessary for me to take several weeks of rest
away from my duties and posts.

Since our country is threatened by the US Government under
circumstances such as these, I have made the following decisions:

I provisionally delegate my functions as first secretary of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba to its second
secretary, comrade Raul Castro Ruz.

I provisionally delegate my functions as commander in chief of the
heroic Revolutionary Armed Forces to the aforementioned comrade, Army
General Raul Castro.

I provisionally delegate my functions as president of the Council of
State and Government of the Republic of Cuba to the first vice
president, comrade Raul Castro Ruz.

I provisionally delegate my responsibilities as head of the national
and international public health programme to the Politburo member and
public health minister, comrade Jose Ramon Balaguer Cabrera.

I provisionally delegate my responsibilities as head of the national
and international education programme to comrades Jose Ramon Machado
Ventura and Esteban Lazo Hernandez, members of the Politburo.

I provisionally delegate my responsibilities as head of Cuba’s
national Energy Revolution programme and collaboration with other
countries in this area to comrade Carlos Lage Davila, member of the
Politburo and secretary of the Executive Committee of the Council of
Ministers.
The corresponding funds for these three programmes; health,
education, and energy, should continue to be managed and
administered, as I have personally done, by comrades Carlos Lage
Davila, secretary of the Executive Committee of the Council of
Ministers, Francisco Soberon Valdes, minister and president of the
Central Bank of Cuba, and Felipe Perez Roque, minister of foreign
relations, who worked with me in these duties and should form a
commission to that end.

Our glorious Communist Party, with the support of the mass
organisations and all the people, has the mission of taking on the
task given them in this proclamation.

The summit of the Non-Aligned Countries, which will be held from 11-
16 September, should receive the greatest attention of the Cuban
nation and state and be held with the highest level of excellence on
the planned date.

I plead that the thousands of personalities who so generously planned
to celebrate my 80th birthday this 13 August postpone the celebration
until 2 December of this year, the 50th anniversary of the Granma
landing.

It is my request that the party’s Central Committee and the National
Assembly of the People’s Government firmly support this proclamation.
I have not the slightest doubt that our people and our Revolution
will fight until the last drop of blood to defend these and other
ideas and measures that may be necessary to safeguard this historic
process.

Imperialism will never be able to crush Cuba. The battle of ideas
will continue.

Long live the fatherland.

Long live the Revolution.

Long live socialism.

Onward to victory forever.